Short WW2 Story
by Guy With A Gas Mask
Summary: Contains some German. It is a short story I did a while back about a German soldier.


As I fired my rifle I think of what they have done. I know I'm going to die. I do not care. All I can think of is what they have done….

"June 5th, 1944. Around the bunker we are hearing of threats of an Allied invasion. I have been stationed in a bunker on the coast of Normandy, France. There is little joy here after hearing the rumors. Hopefully they are just that, rumors. If not, we will not be able to defend this beach with what little we have. I do not know if I will write you again, mother. If I do not, I love you. Take good care of Wilhelm." As I finish writing a tear fills my eye. Knowing that I could not be there to take care of my mother and brother if I die on this beach fills me with a fear greater than the rumors of an invasion. I wipe the single tear from my eye and give the letter to our courier. He is a young man, no older than 18. The oversized gear on him makes him look like a child wearing an older siblings clothes. I stare at him for a minute, thinking of my younger sibling. The courier must have noticed because he gave a quick and uncomfortable nod and walked off. I return to my post, manning a machinegun. As I gaze upon this beach I look over, I feel stress. After a few hours on constant staring it has become night. It is my turn to sleep. As a black shroud goes over me, all I can think of is an invasion.

It is about 7 in the morning. The beach is covered in a light fog as it rains heavily. After a few minutes I realize I have not seen anyone. I look around the base until I see all of the other twenty-nine men on the roof. They are standing motionless while staring into the ocean. That's when I see what they see. Dozens of allied destroyers sitting on the coast. They sit there like the grim reaper preparing to take a soul. That's when we all saw that there were smaller crafts coming towards the beach. "Verschieben! Sie kommen zum Strand!" I screamed. Then in an instant, every soldier manned their positions. At the mortars, machineguns, or anywhere from which they can shoot. I grabbed my machine gun and loaded a belt in and pulled the charging handle. My partner held more ammunition for when we ran out.

Three minutes later, the first boat hit the beach. That's when we opened fire. It sounded as though every gun on the face of the Earth was firing at once. More and more boats hit the beach. I fired a burst of the machine gun into the boat, killing the entire landing team. We kept going like that until more and more soldiers made it successfully onto the beach. That's when I ran out of ammunition. I turned to my partner and he began loading the gun again. Just as I closed the top of the gun, I heard a loud crack and a thud. I turned to see my partner now headless, laying on the concrete floor. All I could do was stare for what felt like an eternity. The sound of bullets hitting the concrete just inches from me is what snapped me out of that trance. I aimed down the sight of the gun and pulled the trigger. I fired until the barrel melted. That's when I heard the one thing I dreaded, "Die Amerikaner haben den Bunker erreicht!". I heard the thunderous roar of an American flammenwerfer. The screams of my kameraden echo through the bunker as they are engulfed in the flame. I had to escape. I ran through the back of the bunker and kept running. I was a deserter. If I was to be found by the Red Army I would be killed. If I was found by the British, I would be killed. If I was found by the Wehrmacht, I would be killed. The only place I could go is home. As I ran I found an officer's car. I stole it and drove. I had to make it home to Berlin and protect my family.

The car lasted about a month and got me to Paris when it finally broke down. I had thrown away my uniform miles back in favor of the clothes from a dead civilian. As I walked into the famous city of love, I saw hundreds of allied soldiers walking through the city. They had already made it to Paris. How much longer would it take for them to march into Germany? As I looked at the soldiers I saw one that stood out in particular. The man who's face has been engraved into my mind. The man who used the flammenwerfer in my bunker. As I looked at him, he looked at me. He knew me. His face fell into a frown, and he jumooed down from the car he was sitting on. "Hey, you!" he said. I didn't understand what he had said so I kept walking. "Get over here!" he yelled. I began to walk faster now. I still didn't know what he said but I knew he was angry. "I swear to God! If you do not get over here right now, I will bash your head in!" I started running. He was furious. He followed me until he stopped. I kept running. Then I heard the boom of a rifle and felt the bullet go through my left arm. I screamed and fell to my knees. It went right through the side, narrowly missing my bone. As I inspected the wound I heard him running towards me. It was over. He was going to kill me. The soldier put the rifle to my head and got prepared to fire. "Are you ready to die, Kraut?!?" It was over. I wasn't going to make it home. I wouldn't see my family one last time. I closed my eyes and prepared for him to pull the trigger. A few seconds later I heard something. Almost like a rick hitting another rock. I opened my eyes to see the man who stood over me a few moments ago laying on the ground holding the side of his face. I looked up to see a younger soldier holding his helmet. It had a dent in it. The man had hit his comrade to keep him from killing me.

"You're bleeding pretty badly. What happened?" I don't know what he had said so I pointed to the rifle and to the hole in my arm. He had a red cross on his helmet. He was a medic. He inspected my arm and looked in the hole for any debris from the bullet. "Français?" I nodded my head no. "Deutsch?" He asked. "Ja. Sie sprechen Deutsch?" I said. Then he asked "Ja. Seit ich ein Kind war. Was ist passiert?" "Ich weiß nicht. Ich ging an ihm vorbei und dann er an, mich zu jagen. Schließlich hat er mich erschossen und bereit, mich zu töten. Danke, dass du mich gerettet hast." I said. "Nun, ich kann dir eine grundlegende Behandlung geben und das Loch in deinem Arm Flicken. Danach bist du auf dich allein gestellt." He explained. "Danke." I said gratefully.

After a few hours, the young man treated my wound and sent me on my way. I found a cab that would take me from Paris to Champagne. I thanked the driver and started walking again. After about 2 months of walking and hiding from the allies, I made it to Frankfurt. It was September now. The town was bombed out and a red army flag flew over the mayor's office. As I walked through the town it felt….empty. As though not on soul was there. I kept walking through the town. Looking for any sign of life. As it came to night I found a building that was mostly intact. The windows had been blown out and part of the roof was missing but it was the best I could do.

After 3 weeks of walking I made it to Fulda. This town was similar to Frankfurt, regarding that it had been bombed but there, there were many people still around. I looked around for any soldiers and I didn't see any. I did see a few men in what looked like German uniforms but they had lightning bolts on their collars. I knew these men weren't Heer, Luftwaffe, or Kriegsmarine so they had to be something else. That's when they noticed me. They looked back at each other, talked for a second and sent the youngest looking one over to me. "Wer bist du? Was ist Ihr Geschäft hier?" he asked. "versuchen, nach Berlin zu kommen." I said. He looked up at me and said "Berlin? Die Rote Armee umgibt Sie. Wenn Sie dort ankommen, wird die Russische Fahne über den Reichstag fliegen." "Warum verteidigen Sie Sie dann nicht?!?" I yelled. He stepped back and said "wo sind lhre Papiere?" "Was? Warum?" "Wir müssen sicherstellen, dass ihr kein Russe seid." Without hesitation I dove into my pocket and pulled out my papers and handed them to him. "Männlich, 20 's, Militär... Wie neugierig. Sie sind nicht geschickt, um für weitere drei Monate zu verlassen..." My heart sank to my stomach. The man gave me a quick smile and said "Sie sind verhaftet." He pointed his rifle at me and walked me towards a building.

It was March. I had been released in February. I was almost to Berlin now. I was almost home now. As I continue, I see more and more Russians. I avoid them and keep walking.

It was early April now. I was finally in Berlin. All I had to do now was find my family. I walked through the city until I got to where my home was. I dropped to my knees. "Nein! Nein! Diese Bastarde! Sie töteten sie!" I screamed as I hit the ground. In front of me was a bombed out home. With two bodies laying on the floor. It was my family. Laying there after being killed in a bombing raid…

A week has passed. The allies have circled Berlin. I was part of the military once more. As I stand at my post I think about what they did to my family. All I want to do is kill each and every last one of them. Just as I though this, I heard our alarm go off. They were closing in. They opened fire. We opened fire.

As I fired my rifle I knew I was going to die. I didn't care. I just wanted too drag as many as I could to Hell with me. I firing and firing until I run out of ammunition. As I reload I am hit.

As I lay here I can feel the blood draining out of me. The bullet had pierced my heart. I cannot feel anything. I can't breathe. All I can do it look around. I see my comrades falling. My vision begins blurring. The world goes quiet. As darkness fills my vision I can only think of my family. I will be with them soon….


End file.
